Jeffery Simmons put on a show against Louisiana Tech in Ruston last year, scoring two non-offensive touchdowns,He blocked a punt and recovering it in the end zone and returned a fumble 90 yards to the house. Mississippi State won, 57-21.(Photo: Keith Warren, For Clarion Ledger)Buy Photo

STARKVILLE – The Clarion Ledger visited with Cory Diaz of The News-Star, part of The USA Today Network, to learn more about No. 21 Mississippi State's opponent this week: Louisiana Tech.

Here are Diaz's responses to a variety of questions.

The Clarion Ledger: The Louisiana Tech defense is up 24 spots – from 60 to 36 – in total defense rankings from last year to now. How much better is the Louisiana Tech defense than the one that allowed 57 points to MSU in last year’s 57-21 loss, and what has made the difference there?

CD: Louisiana Tech's defense this season is unquestionably more sound this season compared to a year ago. Clear leadership has played a pivotal role as eight starters are back from last season's defense.

Oddly enough, Tech became slightly more experienced by adding transfers at the thinner positions, such as linebacker and reigning National JUCO Defensive Player of the Year Connor Taylor and safety Daniel Lewis. Those newcomers have brought in more speed and athleticism.

CL: What has changed, for better and worse, about Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith since the last time Mississippi State faced him on Sept. 9, 2017, when he only had 140 passing yards and an interception?

CD: For the better: J'Mar Smith, Skip Holtz's first returning quarterback during his tenure in Ruston, is in his second full season, has more command of Holtz's offense. Smith also doesn't get rattled as quickly as he did in 2017. Mentally, he's a stronger quarterback.

For the worse: He continues to be inconsistent and he's still developing to try to become the normal game-changing type quarterback that Holtz hoped he would be by this time in his career.

CL: Who should Mississippi State be worried about when head coach Joe Moorhead's offense has the ball?

CD: Mississippi State could very well hear these this name often Saturday night: Jaylon Ferguson. The redshirt senior defensive end, a sure-fire top NFL draft pick in most likely the first two rounds, holds the Conference USA career sack record (38).

Louisiana Tech defensive end Jaylon Ferguson is one of 20 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award.(Photo: Tom Morris/LATechSportsPix.com)

Ferguson currently leads the nation in sacks this season with 10.5, which comes out to 1.31 sacks per game. Another guy to watch is sophomore corner back Amik Robertson, another NFL caliber player. He was a freshman All-American a year ago, and teams are not challenging him this year. He's that good.

CL: Who should Mississippi State be worried about when defensive coordinator Bob Shoop's defense is on the field?

CD: Louisiana Tech has a pair of receivers, Adrian Hardy and Teddy Veal, who have already combined for well over 1,000 yards this season. The two have 86 combined catches, too.

Hardy, a 6-foot-2 sophomore from Houston, leads the team in touchdown receptions with five. He's a true deep threat, averaging over 16 yards per reception. He should give Mississippi State's corners one of their biggest tests of the year.

CL: Louisiana Tech took LSU to the wire in Baton Rouge earlier this season. How’d that happen, and is there a similar recipe to do so against MSU in Starkville?

CD: With seven road games this year, Tech knew coming in that it was going to have to be "King of the Road." The Bulldogs have embraced that and have played their best football away from home, winning four of five road games at this point.

Louisiana Tech quarterback J'Mar Smith will lead his team against UTEP on Saturday.(Photo: Tom Morris/Louisiana Tech Sports Information)

Down in Baton Rouge, LSU jumped up 24-0, and Louisiana Tech clawed its way back by completely opening up the playbook, airing it out on offense. Smith threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, and he didn't turn the ball over. The offensive line played miles above its head that night. Tech's offense will need another one of those types of performances to have a shot in Starkville.

CL: How comfortable is Louisiana Tech in allowing MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald – who has struggled for much of the season – to throw the ball, and how worried is LA Tech about MSU’s potentially potent rushing attack?

CD: I believe Louisiana Tech defensive coordinator Blake Baker will like his guys' chances by playing the run first and playing contain on Fitzgerald to force MSU to resort to throwing the ball.

The Tech defense has been susceptible to giving up chunks of yards on the ground this season, allowing teams to rush for more than 200 yards in half of its game, and it has allowed 16 rushing touchdowns.

The aforementioned Robertson along with fellow corner L'Jarius Sneed have been a complementary tandem on the perimeter and safeties James Jackson, Darryl Lewis and Jordan Baldwin are three of Tech's top four tacklers this year.